Starting today, PC users around the world can head to preview.windows.com to download Windows 8 Release Preview, the latest version along the path to Microsoft's next major operating system, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant announced.

The Release Preview doesn't make any drastic departures from Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the previous publicly available test version. But in addition to hardening and speeding up the OS code, highlights of the Release Preview include new and updated default apps (Sports, News, and Travel), advanced multi-monitor support, and limited support for Adobe Flash in the upcoming OS's Web browser, Internet Explorer 10.

Several updates already announced by Microsoft didn't make it into this build, most notably the redesigned Desktop interface. (Windows 8 features two interlinked modes, the touch tablet friendly, tile-based Metro interface, and the Desktop interface, which resembles Windows 7.) Microsoft also told PCMag that the final product will also include helps for new users, pointing out how to perform common tasks.

Windows 8's touch tablet-friendly Metro style apps now offer pinning of particular app sections to the operating system's tile-based Metro Start Screen. For example, the email app now lets users pin a particular inbox separately, the Sports app lets you pin a particular team, and the Finance app a favorite stock symbol. The new Travel app lets you see info and photos of destinations, panoramas, and travel articles. Several of the apps take advantage of information from Microsoft's search engine, Bing.

Multi-MonitorWindows 8 will improve on Windows 7's support for multiple-monitor setups. You'll now be able to span a single background image across more than one screen, and the Taskbar will be available on multiple desktops, as well. You'll also be able to easily call up Windows 8's "charms" or system menu icons from any of the monitors using the mouse pointer. Each monitor can also use different screen resolutions, orientations, and personalizations.

Flash in Metro Internet ExplorerLast week, it was rumored that Windows 8's tablet version of the Internet Explorer Web browser would include support for Adobe's Flash plugin. That turns out to be partially true. The Metro version of Internet Explorer will include limited Flash support for approved sites using a subset of Flash Player 11.3. (The current released version is 11.2.) The support won't extend to actions such as rollover buttons and text.

But Flash won't be the only new capability in IE10: It will also feature "flip-ahead," which lets users advance to the next most likely Web page when browsing a site. For example, the next page of a multi-page article or of search results. The Opera browser features a similar capability. IE10 will also come with Do Not Track enabled by default to help protect users' browsing privacy.

Windows 8 Upgrade OfferMicrosoft has also announced Windows 8 upgrade pricing of $14.99 for new buyers of a Windows 7 PC starting June 2 and ending on January 31, 2013. Though Microsoft hasn't given a timeframe for the operating system's final release, the upgrade's end date gives a hint that the final release will happen before that; most analysts expect the final version to hit this fall.

For a complete rundown of what's new, check back for our full hands on with Windows 8 Release Preview, and see the slideshow above. Look for continuing coverage on PCMag, as we test, compare, and offer tips for the next big OS from Microsoft. You also can download the pre-release OS for yourself from preview.windows.com and install it on any Windows 7-capable PC.

About the Author

Michael Muchmore is PC Magazine's lead analyst for software and web applications. A native New Yorker, he has at various times headed up PC Magazine's coverage of Web development, enterprise software, and display technologies. Michael cowrote one of the first overviews of web services for a general audience. Before that he worked on PC Magazine's S... See Full Bio

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